What a stupid thought!!  I didn’t even pull those videos out of my suitcase!!  haha!

I wasn’t too terribly concerned about my weight on vacation because I wasn’t eating any more than usual or anything too horribly unhealthy.  I wasn’t eating unhealthy portion sizes either.  I did a lot of sitting around though….but hey, it was vacation!

When I got home, I was feeling great.  I think that having a tan helps with the body image because as I have heard before, you look slimmer when you are tan.  It works for me!  Plus, the husband kept telling me how great I look and how much thinner I look in my new OBX clothing.  (on a side note: Chuck has been amazing to me, he has helped me find my self-esteem after it had been lost for years, he tells me how beautiful I am, etc. )

I went to the gym on Tuesday evening for the first time in over a week.  I was fully prepared to be sore the next day.  While I was there, I wanted to step on the scale to see just where my weight was.  I have always used the gym’s doctor style scale so that is what I base my weight on.  I walked down the steps to get on the scale but the room was full of young guys so I kept on walking.  I know I am a wimp!

I didn’t get to the gym until yesterday (Saturday) so I was going to weigh myself then.  Chuck and I worked out for a very short time…only 45 minutes and all we did was weights.  As we were walking out to leave, I went to the scale to hop on.  Of course that is when his friend from high school walks in, just as I am stepping on the scale! At that point, I didn’t really care, I needed to know my weight! Besides, he was distracted by my amazing peeling that is going on on my back, it’s really fabulous!

Holy moly, my weight has stayed the same since the week before we left for vacation?!?!  I didn’t gain any weight?!  In fact, I lost a few ounces?! 

I couldn’t be happier about that.  I have my new gym schedule (they add/change/rearrange classes every 8 weeks or so) and I have mapped out my weekly routine.  It could change if the daycare calls me to start working.  I am happy to say that the hip hop classes are back!!!  On Wednesday evenings, I will be getting my dance on!!  It starts this week so I’m excited. 

I am going to try to keep going to the gym at least 4 days a week.  It could get tough if I start my new job but I am determined to do well because I am going to participate in the next challenge with the Sisterhood. They are doing a Biggest Loser style challenge with teams of 3-4 people using the weight loss percentage.  That way, I will be accountable for what I do and my participation and hard work will help others.  Nothing like a challenge to get you moving and working harder!  I would love to lose about ten more pounds and then maintain that weight within a few pounds. 

I am finally at a healthy weight for my height…. 130lbs.  at 5’3″.  Oh my goodness, can’t believe I just put that on here!  I am proud of myself though for the hard work I put into the weight loss.  I felt great being able to wear a bikini on vacation.  There were no pictures taken of me in that bikini…that I know of so it’s okay.  It was all family and they love me regardless of what my body looks like so I was okay with it. 

I’m hoping to look even better by the end of summer.  Maybe by then, I will feel okay with posting a picture of myself in my bikini!

Our days were filled with good food, great times with family, trips to the beach, swimming in the pool and just spending time together in the fab house.  This vacation will always hold a special place in my heart because it was our first family vacation and the kids’ first trip to the beach.  They absolutely loved it and before we even pulled out of the driveway of the beach house, Jada was crying because she didn’t want to leave…I didn’t either!

I have a ton of pictures and will eventually get some up at Flickr…I sort of forgot all about Flickr…haven’t even been to the site for a long time!  Oops!

Our trip home was adventurous as we ended up in DC by accident and lost, going in circles thanks to Eleanor (our GPS) telling us to keep going on the same roads.  We got ourselves out of there but not before we took the quick tour of the nation’s capital! We saw the Pentagon, the Washington Monument, the Capital building, Air and Space Museum and the Arlington Cemetary.  We do hope to go back one day for a proper tour of the city!!

Jada is sick with a bad cold, something that a few people had while on vacation, I’m happy hers waited until vacation was over so she was able to enjoy herself!  Lincoln is struggling with a fever and runny nose.  Yay!!  Let the fun of being home begin!!

Back to real life I guess.  There are other exciting things happening in my life but I will have to update ya’ll on that another day..probably tomorrow!

I am sunburnt but I’m hoping that it turns to a nice tan soon and I will go home darker than when I came!  I watched the sunrise today from the front porch, I do want to go to the beach to see that maybe tomorrow.  Although the view is still amazing from the porch. 

The kids loved going into the ocean and feeling what a wave feels like.  They also enjoyed playing in the sand where Chuckie was buried and made to look like an alligator and Jada was made into a mermaid.  I will have to post pictures up at Flickr when I have more time at home.  So stay tuned for all the wonderful images of our trip!

We went souvenir shopping yesterday and spent a ton of money.  That’s always fun!  We will all be OBX’d out when we all get home! 

The kids have been so well-behaved and we haven’t had any problems with them.  It is crazy that at home, Lincoln acts like  a wild beast and while we’ve been here, he has been so calm and so good.  Maybe we should just stay here!  He has the laid back attitude that comes with Corolla, I guess!  I could definitely handle staying here for longer!

I am so grateful to be here and to get to see my kids experience everything there is to a beach vacation, they are having a blast.  We are already talking of doing this again in two years!  With even more people!  The group we have here right now, we all get along really well and the kids play well together.  There are three couples who have little kids (including us) and we all get to hang out tonight while the older adults stay with our kids and watch them for us!  We are all excited and looking forward to an evening out, without any crying, yelling or whining!

Things are going so well and we have this awesome house, it’s hard to be homesick!

Yesterday, I took the two older kids to the beach when it was super windy and cold and Chuckie’s reaction was just the best!  They have never seen the ocean before and as he climbed the steps on the pathway to the beach, I watched him.  He reached the top and said, “OH MY GOSH, THAT IS AWESOME!!!!” it was just priceless.  They really enjoyed that, even though they couldn’t go into the water.  They collected seashells and have plans to give each of their classmates one when they go back to school next week. 

We decided yesterday to go for a ride on the beach to look for the wild horses.  We were all piled into three vehicles and one vehicle decided not to risk it because someone just had to get towed out of there.  We decided to forge ahead with our relatives in another truck. It was so fun!  We didn’t see any horses and Chuckie claimed that it was a total ripoff!  But driving fast through the sand and bouncing around was fun.

Last night, after watching the Pens game (what a good game!) Chuck and I decided to go in the hot tub.   It felt so good, the heat and the massage of the jets was just what I needed and we plan on doing that again tonight!

Today, we drove around a bit and visited some of the little shops and took some pictures.  The kids have some money for souvenirs and they each bought a shirt today.  We will go back out on Thursday for more. 

The weather is supposed to improve over the next few days so I’m sure there is much more fun to be had. I will leave you with a few pictures to look at what we have been doing so far.

We are leaving in three days for vacation and I have so much to do.  I am doing a lot of the shopping today, without Lincoln in tow.  I have a lot to get but with the five lists in hand, I should be good to go!  Yes, I have several lists for this one shopping day!  Yay for lists

I wish I could say that I am just purely excited for this vacation.  I am excited but the excitement is being overshadowed by the extreme anxiety that I have been dealing with for the past two weeks.  I am just so sick of the anxiety.  I guess maybe I should have gone on my meds a month ago before it all started, maybe I should have foreseen the anxiety building up.  I didn’t though.  If you have anxiety issues, then you know the physical problems that it can cause.  I have them all and it is wearing me down.  I have been having anxiety attacks on top of anxiety attacks.  I have the nausea, the stomach cramping, the irritable bowels (sorry!), the headaches, etc.  It is really annoying and if I could shut it all off, I would…oh how I would love to do that!  I am looking forward to Sunday when we are on our way and I can relax knowing that we are taking our kids to see the ocean for the first time.  That I can relax in the pool or walk across the street to the ocean.  That I will be surrounded by family and having fun away from the stresses of home! 

Jada also has her dance recital this weekend which has only added to the stress levels.  We are pretty set for all of the recital stuff but it would have been nice if we didn’t have to worry about it before vacation and I could spend the two days preparing more. 

I am doing well otherwise.  I have been going to the gym and trying to take my mind off of the stress and burning some calories.  It has really helped me to sweat out the problems! 

I am going to try to post while on vacation…during some down time.  I hope you all have a wonderful few days until I post again….sorry for the rant post today!

I have had so many ideas for a post but then when I went to sit to type it all up, something else came up and I never posted anything!

Let’s see……

I am happy to report that my weight loss/shaping up journey has been going well.  I have been going to the gym at least three times a week but usually four times.  I have been doing the weight lifting, treadmill and several different classes.  My favorite class is Cardio Hip Hop.  It is so fun and I’ve learned the different combinations pretty much.  I think I enjoy it so much because I love to dance and it sort of takes me back to my cheerleading days.  I feel so good about having something for myself.  That’s how I feel when I take any class.  My kids aren’t there, my husband isn’t there, I’m not taking care of anyone else but myself.  I have been maintaining my weight but the difference in the way my body looks is awesome. I can see it and Chuck keeps saying how good I look and how much I’ve slimmed down.  He’s a great support for me.  I have sort of hit a plataeu as far as my weight goes but I’m not sure if it is due to the weight lifting.  The number isn’t as important to me as the fact that my clothes are fitting better and I am in better shape.  That was always my main objective.  I mean that has always been my objective but I would like to see the number go a little lower.  I will continue to work on that though!

So many of my thoughts are about our upcoming vacation.  I am so looking forward to it and I just cannot wait.  I brought out all of Lincoln’s shorts from last summer and not surprisingly, they all still fit….even the ones that are size 9months!  He’s our little guy!   I will only have to buy him some t shirts and I need to make sure that we all have white shirts for our family portrait on the beach.  I have planned some things for us to do but I want to make sure that we do get the chance to just hang out at the beach and house and spend this time with family.

I had parent/teacher conferences last week and I didn’t check on the kids’ grades this grading period because I tend to really get on their case when I know their grades.  I was happy to learn that they each had A’s and B’s.  Chuckie actually moved on in his little math quizzes…he is now on the level with multiplication…which they haven’t even learned yet in second grade.  He’s a smarty pants so I’m not too surprised.   Jada tested very well on her math and surpassed all the baseline levels!  I’m so proud of my kids!

Okay, I have to get going now….gotta bring the dog in, she’s barking at something…there have been skunks out there before and I don’t want her to get sprayed!!

I am wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions, places that we just have to go while there, things to do?  All the things have to be kid friendly though since we will have our kids with us.  We do have one evening where we will be going out while the family watches our kids so we are up for suggestions on nightlife!

I am so looking forward to this vacation and since this is the kids first vacation, I want it to be fun and memorable. 

Also, some good news, we are probably going to wait until 6am to leave instead of 4am!  Yay for that extra two hours…not that I will be able to sleep from the excitement!!

So, yeah, if you have been there and been somewhere exciting or fabulous, let me know and I will put it on our list!!  Thanks!

We are going with four other families and we are staying in a beach house for a week.  I can’t wait, obviously! 

Why did the women meet and not the men too?  Well, because the women know what we are talking about and remember the details, the men don’t!!  LOL!

My sister-in-law and her husband are just fantastic people.  They are the ones who booked the vacation, paid for the house for the week and are footing a very hefty part of the bill as far as food and supplies.  We were lucky enough to be asked to go along and I can’t quite express how appreciative we are for that. 

Our kids have never been on a vacation.  Yes, you read that right.  Other than going camping for a weekend every summer with my side of the family, they have never been on a family vacation.  They have never seen the ocean or been to a beach.  This is another reason why I am so thankful for this opportunity. 

Another great thing coming?  My husband’s niece has an awesome camera and she offered to take our family picture while on vacation at the beach.  Her mom has a great photo printer that can print pictures up to 13×19!  What a great thing to have from our first big family vacation.  We will also be getting a big group shot with matching outfits like everyone does at the beach…haha!  I just cannot wait to go and relax and spend this time with my family.  Well, my husband’s family but if there was ever a family who made you feel as if you were one of them, this is it.

Also? I made a list of things to pack and boy, it’s long!!  I have a bunch of things to buy before we go too so those days before we leave will be busy. 

Thank goodness we are coming home on the Sunday before Memorial day…that means an extra day to rest before work and school!